Recipe

Step Up Your Macaron Game with America's Favorite Cookie

By Sydney Youmans at University of Southern California

We all love the classic macaron flavors of vanilla bean, chocolate, and pistachio, but why not switch it up with a soon-to-be classic: Oreo. It takes America's favorite cookie, the Oreo, and reinvents it into the French favorite, the macaron. 

The Oreos are ground into the macaron shell and the buttercream, so it's a full cookies and creme experience in every bite. Both decadent and light, these Oreo macarons should be your next baking challenge.

Oreo Macarons

  • Prep Time: 1 hr
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins
  • Servings: 25
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 10 Oreo cookies
  • 2 egg whites room temperature
  • 1/4 cup superfine or caster sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp cream tartar or lemon juice optional
  • 1/2 stick butter
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

Sydney Youmans

Step 1

Add 1/2 cup almond flour and the first cup of powdered sugar to a food processor and blend. Pour the dry mixture through a sifter into a large bowl.

Sydney Youmans

Step 2

Take 2 Oreos and remove the cream from the middle, so you're left with 4 cookie halves. Add them to the food processor and pulse until it looks like fine sand. Sift the Oreo crumbs into the almond flour-powdered sugar mixture and mix. Dump the large bits left in the sifter and set the flour aside.

Sydney Youmans

Step 3

Put the 2 egg whites into a large bowl with the 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp cream of tartar or lemon juice (optional). The cream of tartar/lemon juice stabilizes the egg whites, so the meringue stays set up when being folded into the dry mixture. I added lemon because I had it on hand, and don't worry, it has no effect on the taste.

Sydney Youmans

Step 4

Have the 1/4 cup of superfine sugar ready on the side. Whisk the egg whites with an electric mixture until foamy. This is when you begin to add the sugar, but only a little at a time.

Sydney Youmans

Step 5

After adding after 1/4 to 1/3 of the sugar, whisk until combined. Repeat 3 or 4 times until all the sugar is incorporated. By this time, the egg whites should be light and airy. This means that the egg whites have turned into meringue. This soft peak stage is a good time to add food coloring. One or two drops of black food coloring are enough to get a light grey meringue like cookies and creme. If you don't have any black food coloring in your pantry, just skip this step.

Sydney Youmans

Step 6

Whisk the meringue until it forms strong peaks. You'll know it's there when if you lift your whisk, the meringue maintains a peak on the whisk and in the bowl.

Sydney Youmans

Step 7

Now to combine the dry mixture into the meringue. Add about 1/3 of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and gently fold with a rubber spatula to enough to combine but not deflate your egg whites. Repeat 2 more times.

Sydney Youmans

Step 8

The meringue should loosen up but still should be airy. Scoop the batter into a piping bag or large Ziploc and snip the tip.

Sydney Youmans

Step 9

Prepare 2 cookie sheets with either silicon macaron mats like I have or DIY macaron templates traced onto parchment paper. Pipe the cookies by placing the tip in the center of your outline and pipe until the batter reaches the edges of the circle.

Sydney Youmans

Step 10

Tap the cookie sheets on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles. Let them chill for about 30 minutes on the counter to set up. You'll be about to tell when the 'skin' has formed if the surface feels dry to the touch and forms an indentation.

Sydney Youmans

Step 11

Preheat the oven to 285 °F. Bake the macaron shells for 20 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely.

Sydney Youmans

Step 12

While the cookies are cooling, make the Oreo buttercream. Pulse the remaining 8 Oreos in the food processor until it resembles wet sand. Cream the 1/2 stick of butter and Oreo crumbs together followed by the cup of powdered sugar.

Sydney Youmans

Step 13

Spread about a half tablespoon of buttercream on half of the cookies. Sandwich the macarons together.

Sydney Youmans

Step 14

Time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Oreo macarons make a great gift too! I packaged up some for a friend. People know how much work it takes to make macarons, so they'll really appreciate it.

Sydney Youmans